SLS

NASA has successfully completed the first of two tests designed to certify the massive solid fuel boosters which will form a part of NASA's next generation Space Launch System (SLS). Once completed, SLS will represent the most powerful launch vehicle ever constructed and will be responsible for, among other tasks, launching NASA's Orion spacecraft on humanity's first manned mission to Mars. Read More

Proving that not all the space spectaculars are on the big screen at Christmas, NASA has released video taken from inside the Orion spacecraft during its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere earlier this month. The ten-minute video shows the final minutes before its December 10 splashdown as it made a fiery descent ahead of a parachute landing in the Pacific ocean. Read More

One of NASA’s more off-the-radar facilities is responsible for some of the organization’s most important research. Kennedy Space Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory may get the lion's share of attention, but Marshall Space Flight Center, in Huntsville, Alabama, is responsible for developing much of the complex inner-workings of rockets, satellites, and future technologies. Read More

Mercedes says that its new AMG GT and GT S coupes signal a move into a new, top-class sports car segment for the company. Both cars are on display at the Paris Motor Show, which opened to the public on Saturday, and Gizmag stopped by for a closer look. Read More

The Obama Administration has approved an extension of the International Space Station (ISS) program from 2020 until at least 2024. This is an unfunded statement of intent, which must be both approved and funded by the US Congress. Neither NASA nor the White House have revealed from where the additional US$4 billion per year of funding for this extended operation will come. At present none of the ISS international partners have plans to support such an extension. Is this the best decision for the future of manned space exploration? Read More

Kiwi Professor of Mechtronics Olaf Diegel has now added a set of drums and a keyboard to his catalog of beautiful 3D-printed instruments. His new creations will join guitar and bass models for a road trip to Frankfurt's EuroMold event next month, where a band will take to the stage to play some live sets using the instruments. Read More

3D printing technology has already made the move from engineering workshop to the home, and now it's set to make its mark in space. NASA has hot-fire tested 3D-printed rocket engine components, which have managed to withstand incredibly high temperatures and pressures to the same standard as traditionally manufactured parts. Being cheaper and faster to produce, 3D-printed parts have the potential to revolutionize the manufacturing of rocket engine components and save the space agency considerable time and money. Read More

Due for its public debut at the upcoming Los Angeles motor show, Mercedes-Benz AMG has finally revealed images and details of the SLS Black Series. Ever since the gull-winged wonder was first released in 2010, enthusiasts and schoolboys have been anticipating the inevitable ultimate (road-going) version. It'll come as no surprise that the beast in question is wider, harder, faster, and completely awesome. Read More

When NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) enters service in 2017, it will replace the historic Saturn V as the largest, most powerful space launch vehicle ever flown. To lift its initial 70-metric ton (77 ton) payload into orbit, the SLS will rely on additional boost from a pair of the largest solid rocket motors ever to be built for flight. The first of these boosters is being assembled for NASA in Brigham City, Utah by ATK Space Systems using new manufacturing methods intended to make these behemoths safer and less expensive. Read More

There's some confusion as to whether the new Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS GT (to give it its full title) is a replacement or an addition to the SLS stable. The official line is that it is a faster and more focused additional model but it seems likely that the standard SLS will quietly disappear. It make less and less sense in the face of the monstrous SL 63 and 65s now available. The SLS GT, however, makes perfect sense - it fixes the niggle that every single reviewer has complained about since day one. Gearbox, gearbox, gearbox. Read More